poetry reflection

Sky Seasoning ~ By Shel Silverstein

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A Bit of Sky Changes Everything

Sometimes all it takes is one unexpected moment to transform the ordinary into something unforgettable.

Sky Seasoning

Shel Silverstein

A piece of sky
Broke off and fell
Through the crack in the ceiling
Right into my soup,
KERPLOP!
I really must state
That I usually hate
Lentil soup, but I ate
Every drop!
Delicious delicious
(A bit like plaster),
But so delicious, goodness sake–
I could have eaten a lentil-soup lake.
It’s amazing the difference
A bit of sky can make.

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Reflection

Shel Silverstein reminds us that wonder often arrives unannounced, slipping through the cracks of our routine lives. In Sky Seasoning, a simple bowl of lentil soup becomes extraordinary because a piece of sky—pure possibility—falls into it. The poem invites us to see how even the smallest touch of magic can shift our perspective, awaken joy, and make the everyday feel new again. It’s a playful reminder that life doesn’t need to be perfect to be delicious; it just needs a spark of imagination.

Question for Readers:

When has an unexpected moment transformed something ordinary into something extraordinary for you?

Courage ~ A Poem by Dynely Hussey

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The Unconquered Queen Within Us

Courage doesn’t erase fear—it transforms it into strength, clarity, and quiet power.

Courage

Dynely Hussey

Alone amid the battle-din untouched 
Stands out one figure beautiful, serene; 
No grime of smoke nor reeking blood hath smutched 
The virgin brow of this unconquered queen. 
She is the Joy of Courage vanquishing 
The unstilled tremors of the fearful heart; 
And it is she that bids the poet sing, 
And gives to each the strength to bear his part. 

Her eyes shall not be dimmed, but as a flame 
Shall light the distant ages with its fire, 
That men may know the glory of her name, 
That purified our souls of fear’s desire. 
And she doth calm our sorrow, soothe our pain, 
And she shall lead us back to peace again.

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Danely Hussey’s poem presents Courage not as a roar, but as a serene and steady presence—“a queen” untouched by chaos. She doesn’t silence fear; she elevates us above it. Courage clears the mind when life feels loud, steadies the heart when uncertainty shakes us, and gives us the strength to step forward even when shadows stretch long. The poem reminds us that courage is both a guide and a companion, lighting the ages with its unwavering flame. When we lean into her presence, fear loses its grip and peace becomes possible again.

💬 

Question for Readers

Which line from the poem spoke most directly to your own experience with fear or courage—and why?

Safe ~ A Poem by Augusta Davies Webster

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When the Storm Rages, You Remain Safe

Even the wildest winds lose their power when you discover where your true anchorage lies.

Safe

Augusta Davies Webster

Wild wintry wind, storm through the night, 
        Dash the black clouds against the sky, 
Hiss through the billows seething white, 
        Fling the rock-surf in spray on high. 

Hurl the high seas on harbour bars, 
        Madden them with thy havoc-shriek 
Against the crimson beacon-stars — 
        Thy rage no more can make me weak. 

The ship rides safely in the bay, 
      The ship that held my hope in her — 
Whirl on, wild wind, in thy wild fray, 
      We hear our whispers through the stir.

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Reflection

Webster’s poem pulls us straight into a furious night—waves crashing, winds screaming, clouds tearing across the sky. And yet, in the midst of this chaos, something remarkable emerges: safety, not because the storm calms, but because the ship has reached the harbor. The poem invites us to consider where our harbors lie. What anchors us when life’s winds howl? Strength doesn’t always come by quieting the storm; sometimes it comes by recognizing the shelter already holding us steady. The whisper of hope can outshine the loudest rage.

Reader Question

What “harbor” in your life helps you stay safe when your personal storms rise?

Once More, The Round ~ A Poem by Theodore Roethke

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Dancing With the Unknown: Finding Joy in Roethke’s “Once More, The Round”

Roethke invites us into a world where wonder outweighs certainty and where the soul discovers its truest rhythm by embracing what cannot be fully known.

Once More, The Round

Theodore Roethke

What’s greater, Pebble or Pond?  
What can be known? The Unknown.  
My true self runs toward a Hill  
More! O More! visible.  
 
Now I adore my life  
With the Bird, the abiding Leaf,  
With the Fish, the questing Snail,  
And the Eye altering All;  
And I dance with William Blake  
For love, for Love’s sake;  
 
And everything comes to One,  
As we dance on, dance on, dance on.  

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Reflection

Roethke’s Once More, The Round reminds us that life’s deepest truths rarely arrive through certainty—they unfold through wonder. Pebble or pond, known or unknown, the poem urges us to move toward what expands the heart. Roethke celebrates a world alive with connection: bird, leaf, fish, snail—each image a reminder that our joy grows when we see ourselves as part of something larger. By dancing with William Blake “for love’s sake,” he points us toward the unity underlying all things. The poem invites us to rediscover awe and let it reshape the way we see ourselves and the world.

As you read this poem, ask yourself:

How does Roethke’s dance with the unknown inspire you to approach your own life with more wonder, trust, or openness?

More and More ~ A Poem by Margaret Atwood

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When Hunger Becomes Connection: Exploring the Deep Longing in Atwood’s “More and More

Margaret Atwood’s poem exposes a raw, aching desire to merge with another person—not out of possession, but out of profound yearning for connection. Here’s what it reveals about us.

More and More

Margaret Atwood

More and more frequently the edges
of me dissolve and I become
a wish to assimilate the world, including
you, if possible through the skin
like a cool plant’s tricks with oxygen
and live by a harmless green burning.
I would not consume
you or ever
finish, you would still be there
surrounding me, complete
as the air.
Unfortunately I don’t have leaves.
Instead I have eyes
and teeth and other non-green
things which rule out osmosis.
So be careful, I mean it,
I give you fair warning:
This kind of hunger draws
everything into its own
space; nor can we
talk it all over, have a calm
rational discussion.
There is no reason for this, only
a starved dog’s logic about bones.

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Reflection:

Atwood’s More and More pulls us into the fierce tenderness of human longing—the hunger not to own someone, but to dissolve the distance between two lives. Her speaker dreams of an impossible intimacy, wishing for the gentle absorption of a plant yet recognizing the sharp, imperfect tools of humanity: eyes, teeth, the ache of desire. This poem reveals a truth about us all—we crave a connection so complete that words fall short and logic crumbles. Atwood reminds us that real closeness isn’t rational; it’s instinctive, powerful, and often vulnerable.

Question for Readers:

How did Atwood’s portrayal of longing and “harmless green burning” speak to your own experiences of desire or connection?

The Early Morning ~ A Poem by Hilaire Belloc

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When Dawn and Moon Speak: Finding Balance in Life’s Quiet Moments

What if the sky’s gentle handoff from moon to sunrise is also an invitation for us to find harmony in our own lives?

The Early Morning

Hilaire Belloc

The moon on the one hand, the dawn on the other;
The moon is my sister, the dawn is my brother.
The moon on my left and the dawn on my right-
My brother, good morning; my sister, good night.

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Reflection

Belloc’s short poem captures a universe of calm in just a handful of lines. The moon and the dawn greet each other like siblings trading places, reminding us that every ending hands the world gently into a new beginning. Their quiet exchange invites us to reflect on our own transitions — the moments when something leaves so something else can arrive. In this cosmic rhythm, nothing is rushed and nothing is wasted. We’re reminded that balance isn’t found in dramatic shifts but in simple, steady exchanges of light and shadow.

What part of this poem speaks most to your life right now?

Rain ~ A Poem by Robert Garfield Dandridge

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The Healing Beauty Hidden in the Rain

Rain isn’t just weather—it’s a quiet blessing we often overlook. This poem invites us to rediscover the gift falling right in front of us.

Rain

Robert Garfield Dandridge

The clouds are shedding tears of joy, 
They fall with rhythmic beat 
Upon the earth, and soon destroy 
Dust dunes and waves of heat. 

Each falling drop enforcement bears 
To river, lake and rill, 
And sweet refreshment gladly shares 
With wooded dell and hill. 

Every flower, bud and leaf, 
Each blossom, branch and tree 
Distills the rain, ’tis my belief, 
To feed the honey bee. 

I pity every wretch I find 
Who, frowning in disdain, 
Is deaf and dumb and also blind 
To beauty in the rain.

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Reflection

Rain often arrives as a gentle teacher, reminding us that renewal doesn’t always come with noise or fanfare. In this poem, Dandridge shows how rain lifts the weight of heat and dust, nourishes rivers and hillsides, and awakens flowers into fullness. Everything living receives its share of refreshment—except the hearts that refuse to see it. The poem challenges us to soften our gaze, to welcome life’s small blessings, and to recognize beauty in places we often rush past. Rain becomes a metaphor for grace: quiet, persistent, and life-giving.

Question for readers:

What beauty have you discovered during a rainy moment that others might overlook?

April Rain Song ~ A Poem by Langston Hughes

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Let the Rain Soothe Your Soul: A Reflection on Langston Hughes’ “April Rain Song”

Step into the gentle world of Langston Hughes, where rain becomes music, comfort, and calm for the soul.

April Rain Song

Langston Hughes

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.

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Reflection

Langston Hughes invites us into a world where rain becomes more than weather—it becomes a companion. In April Rain Song, the rain is gentle, musical, and strangely comforting. It kisses, sings, soothes, and reminds us that even ordinary moments can hold extraordinary peace. Hughes teaches us to slow down and let life touch us softly, to hear the lullaby hidden in moments we often rush past. When we allow the “silver liquid drops” to fall without resistance, we reconnect with wonder, presence, and childlike joy. Rain, in his hands, becomes healing.

Question:

What feelings or memories does rain awaken in you?

Possibilities ~ A Poem by Wislawa Szymborska

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The Power of Small Preferences

Szymborska’s poem reminds us that the smallest preferences can reveal the biggest truths about who we are and how we experience the world.

Possibilities

Wislawa Szymborska

I prefer movies.
I prefer cats.
I prefer the oaks along the Warta.
I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky.
I prefer myself liking people
to myself loving mankind.
I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand, just in case.
I prefer the color green.
I prefer not to maintain
that reason is to blame for everything.
I prefer exceptions.
I prefer to leave early.
I prefer talking to doctors about something else.
I prefer the old fine-lined illustrations.
I prefer the absurdity of writing poems
to the absurdity of not writing poems.
I prefer, where love’s concerned, nonspecific anniversaries
that can be celebrated every day.
I prefer moralists
who promise me nothing.
I prefer cunning kindness to the over-trustful kind.
I prefer the earth in civvies.
I prefer conquered to conquering countries.
I prefer having some reservations.
I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of order.
I prefer Grimms’ fairy tales to the newspapers’ front pages.
I prefer leaves without flowers to flowers without leaves.
I prefer dogs with uncropped tails.
I prefer light eyes, since mine are dark.
I prefer desk drawers.
I prefer many things that I haven’t mentioned here
to many things I’ve also left unsaid.
I prefer zeroes on the loose
to those lined up behind a cipher.
I prefer the time of insects to the time of stars.
I prefer to knock on wood.
I prefer not to ask how much longer and when.
I prefer keeping in mind even the possibility
that existence has its own reason for being.

Reflection

Szymborska’s poem reminds us that life is built from small, sincere preferences — the quiet choices that reveal who we really are. Each “I prefer” is a gentle rebellion against the pressure to fit into the world’s expectations. She chooses authenticity over perfection, curiosity over certainty, and the rich unpredictability of life over rigid order. Her preferences become a map of a soul awake to wonder, contradiction, and possibility. By honoring the everyday — cats, oaks, poems, desk drawers — she invites us to notice the ordinary miracles shaping our own days. Her final line nudges us toward humility: that life may have meaning even beyond our explaining.

Question for Readers:

Which line from Szymborska’s poem resonates most with your own quiet preferences — and why?

I Remember You as You Were ~ A Poem by Pablo Neruda

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Autumn Light of the Heart: Exploring Memory in Neruda’s Poem

Neruda’s poem opens the door to a kind of remembering that glows—where love, longing, and autumn light merge into something timeless.

I Remember You as You Were

Pablo Neruda

I remember you as you were in the last autumn. 
You were the grey beret and the still heart.
In your eyes the flames of the twilight fought on.
And the leaves fell in the water of your soul.

Clasping my arms like a climbing plant
the leaves garnered your voice, that was slow and at peace.
Bonfire of awe in which my thirst was burning.
Sweet blue hyacinth twisted over my soul.

I feel your eyes traveling, and the autumn is far off:
Grey beret, voice of a bird, heart like a house
Towards which my deep longings migrated
And my kisses fell, happy as embers.

Sky from a ship. Field from the hills:
Your memory is made of light, of smoke, of a still pond!
Beyond your eyes, farther on, the evenings were blazing.
Dry autumn leaves revolved in your soul.

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Reflection

Pablo Neruda’s “I Remember You as You Were” invites us into a remembering that feels almost sacred. His images—autumn light, falling leaves, quiet longing—reveal how memory doesn’t simply recall the past; it recreates it. The beloved becomes a landscape of emotion: twilight, smoke, water, and flame. Neruda shows how memory can soften grief, intensify love, and make someone present again in a new way. His words remind us that the people who shaped our hearts continue to live within us, not as frozen photographs, but as moving, breathing light.

As you read this poem, ask yourself: What memory in your life still glows like autumn light, shaping who you’ve become today?

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